1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to door locks and, more particularly, to an adjustable door lock for providing users with an easy and convenient means of locking offset and misaligned doors.
2. Prior Art
A barrel bolt is a sliding lock mechanism used to provide security for both average and heavy weight doors and windows. The bolt is surface mounted where the bolt slides into a catch on the other side of the door. Barrel bolts are most suitable for single leaf doors and passive leaf of double doors. They find wide application throughout industry and commerce; especially where a high level of physical security is required. These bolts are easy to fit and are available in a wide range of sockets. Some barrel bolts have spring action to hold the bolt in place while some others are lockable. These bolts are available in various sizes and come in various decorative finishes and with surface or universal strikes. Some barrel bolts are plain, simple looking while some others are highly decorative which are just perfect for installing on cabinet doors, windows etc.
Barrel bolts are installed on a variety of doors, and require high degree accuracy on installation, so that the bolt and catch align when engaged. Even when installed properly, the bolt and catch will become misaligned as the door and wall of the building shifts through use. This issue is common among barrel bolts, and to fix the issue homeowners or leasing managers must re-position the barrel bolt to realign, or find another inconvenient means of remedy. Usually either the lock or the catch has to be removed and the door and wall may require some annoying cosmetic repairs.
Through the effects of temperature fluctuations and structural stresses induced when constructing a building, there is a tendency for the doors of buildings to shift from their original positions thus causing these doors to be misaligned with its frame over time. The shifting may cause the locking bolts and catches of these doors to be misaligned thereby causing the doors to be unboltable.
Accordingly, a need remains for a device in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present disclosure satisfies such a need by providing an adjustable door lock that is convenient and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, versatile in its applications, and designed for providing an easy means of locking offset and misaligned doors. In particular, the advantageous structural configuration of the present disclosure disclosed provides the unexpected and unpredictable advantage of automatically aligning the locking bolt to the catch of these misaligned doors without the need for removing and refitting the locking bolt or catch.